Post by Angie Taylor

One of the great things about being a member of BOD is that authors and fans get to interact and share together in their love for all things dystopian. 

We have so many wonderful authors on BOD. It is my great pleasure to introduce, for those who don’t know her, and for those who do, to become more acquainted with her, one of our author members: Casey Hays! Welcome, and thank you for being a part of BOD’s author interviews. 

Thank you! I was really excited when I saw you were going to be interviewing authors. I had to jump at the chance to talk with the wonderful Angie Taylor!

Well, thank you. It’s my pleasure. Now, Casey, tell us a little about yourself. How long have you been a writer? When did you first know you wanted to write books? What kind of stories do you like to write?

I’ve been writing since I was a little girl, probably around age 8 or 9. When I was 11, my mom bought me a journal, and instead of using it for its intended purpose, I wrote my first novel, with illustrations. It was long and boring about a girl going through the wiles of life from her first kiss to her death. Not very creative and not a bit interesting! I’ve since learned what I want as a reader, and thus, what many readers want from me as a writer. The first inclination that I was going to become a writer was during my stint as an English Composition and Literature teacher. During the 2006-07 school year, a little genre called YA cropped its head and soared in popularity with the Twilight books shoving the door wide open. And suddenly, I thought to myself, “I could do that! I could write books for teens!” And so…I wrote my first YA Supernatural Romance, The Cadence. And voila! I was suddenly a writer.

I’ll read lots of genres, but I love writing YA. I love adding in a bit of the supernatural in every book, too, including my dystopian series. I like exploring the ideas of super-human abilities. I like creating characters who have an extra flare, and so I will always include a few in my stories. Sometimes, they’re only background characters or sidekicks; other times I have a main character with the ability to feel someone’s emotions by simply touching them, or some other such anomaly. It’s fun to create these people who can do things I can’t. I also enjoy sculpting a strong female lead who can take care of herself and stand on her own but who still contains a softness about her that attracts a leading male. I always like there to be a hint of vulnerability in my characters because in the end, that’s what makes all of us human. I like to pair a healthy balance of stubborn feminism with a dose of submissiveness. I want to show my younger female audience especially that you can be instilled with both qualities and be that much better for it.

So fun! I love that you started so young! Why don’t you tell us about your latest book, Breeder. 

Breeder, is the first novel in the Arrow’s Flight Series, and my favorite of all my books so far. It’s the story of Kate, a sixteen year old girl living in a primitive village after the Fall destroyed the Earth and left her village the only one standing. She is assigned to become a breeder early in the novel, and her story unfolds from there. She’s a rebel, and she finds herself in a world of trouble when she refuses to follow the rules. It was a fun journey.

How do you think the characters of Breeder relate, or don’t relate, to readers? 

I’d love to talk about all my characters, but I’ll stick to my main characters here:

Kate is a strong girl with a stubborn will, coupled with a sincere empathy for the hurting. I think a lot of women could relate to her. She has a moral compass that causes her to stand up for what she believes is right rather than comply with the village mandates. And this even at the risk of severe punishment for disobeying the rules. She’s compassionate . . . and selfish. Hard-nosed . . . and tender. Again, something many people find within. Trying to do good, but evil’s right up there alongside it. Kate struggles with this in her own life.

Ian is a young, scared boy who has his issues. But he also has no clue what’s just become of his life when he awakens in the breeding Pit. He’s a typical teen, with mood swings and a bad attitude, but so loveable at the same time. He’s very immature in the beginning of the first novel, and purposely so. Because by the end, he has begun to mature. And in the sequel, he evolves into a confident, well-rounded character who lets his fears motivate him instead of control him.

As for Mona, the harsh, unbending village leader, I’m hoping very few people relate to her . . . but there could be a few out there, I suppose. 😉

Let’s hope not. Mona is the villain you love to hate. What do you want readers to take away, or to think about as a result of reading Breeder? 

I hope that readers see the moral backdrop. I hope they see that Kate’s decisions are based on her desire to maintain a sense of dignity in a place where such things no longer seem to exist. I’d like readers to recognize that she stands up against injustice even when she’s standing all by herself for most of the novel. To understand Kate’s sense of freedom and her desire to have a say about her life. To see that she questions the human condition, and that we as readers should do the same. And lastly, that anyone can be a survivor, but it takes something much deeper to be an overcomer. This is my ultimate plan for Kate and Ian by the end of the series.

What can you tell us about the sequel, The Archer? 

My editors and I are finishing the last set of revisions before the big release! And I love the continuation of Kate’s story! It’s very scary to write a sequel. I know that readers will be looking for a certain standard in the second book, and I worked very hard to recapture my characters and maintain the same voice. I think I achieved it. And although this book is very different from Breeder in the sense that things have drastically changed for Kate, and a whole new adventure awaits her, she’s still Kate. She’s the same strong girl we left in Breeder, but very much out of her element. I can’t really say too much without giving away things for readers who haven’t read Breeder yet, so I’ll leave it at that.

When are we going to be able to read it? 

My plan is October, but this all depends on the cover art, which is being sketched by my sixteen-year-old procrastinating son, haha! He promises to have it ready, and in the end, he usually doesn’t disappoint. We shall see…

We’ll keep our fingers crossed that it’s sooner than later. Now for some random fun facts about you. If you could be any literary character, who would it be and why? 

I suppose I might want to be Hadassah from the Mark of the Lion Series by Francine Rivers. I have never seen anyone go through so much and still be so faithful to God. I would like to be that kind of person when the time comes. And there has never been anyone loved the way she was loved by her man. Wow! Talk about a tearjerker! I highly recommend the books.

I’ll have to add them to my TBR list. Okay, one last question. What is the first book you read that made you love reading? 

The first books I remember reading were the Little House on the Prairie series. I loved them, and they made me want to read everything afterwards.

Spoken like a true bookaholic. Now Casey, you have a chance to ask fellow BOD members a question. Their answers, in the comments below, will be one of the entries for the Rafflecopter drawing for a free signed hard copy of Breeder. 
Oh, fun! Okay. If someone wrote a book about you, what would be the title and why?

You heard her fellow BOD members, give us your answers below. Be sure to check out Casey’s books, and keep in mind, The Archer, the sequel to Breeder, comes out this October!

Thank you so much, Casey, for sharing your awesome time and talents with us! 

Casey’s Links: Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Website
Breeder Links:  Amazon  |  B & N  |  Goodreads

Post by Cheer Papworth

Hi Katie, thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview for all your fans, myself included. It has been truly wonderful to be able to interact with you on the Band of Dystopian Authors and Fans group page.

Thanks so much for having me here. I feel honored! I absolutely love the group Band of Dystopian. It’s a great place to pop in and hang out. You guys run the best contests and those “would you rather” questions… Love them! I try to make it a point to pop over at least once a day to see what fun you guys are having.

When did you discover that you enjoyed writing, and when did you realize that you wanted to make it a career?

Writing is in my blood. I’ve been doing it since I was just a little girl. Of course the stories I wrote back then were sweet and innocent, not the gritty fiction I write today. I was always jotting down craziness in my journals. One of these days I’ll find them. I know they are packed somewhere in my garage. By the time I hit middle school I was typing out my first novel on my old Apple IIc computer. I miss that old box with the green screen. Sadly though, that manuscript was lost when we moved cross country. Those floppy disks were pretty breakable… But, that didn’t stop me completely. It would be almost ten years before I wrote another full-length manuscript, but I did. The start of my Immortalis series was the next major work, and what propelled me into indie publishing.

As a busy mother of three, how do you find the time to write? Do you use anything to sustain you during the writing process? Caffeine? Music? Chocolate?

Caffeine… lots and lots of caffeine. Seriously, I should probably be dead of a heart attack with as much of the pepper-upper potion as I drink. With three kids (two still in diapers) sleep is something of a treat. The Littles, as I call them, are morning people. My older one knows the value of a good morning’s rest. She’ll sleep ‘til noon if you let her. Good girl! But the babies, nope. They are up with the sun. And that means I am too. And writing, ha! None of that gets done until the house is quiet. Other authors will back me up on this. You need a certain kind of quiet to write. That doesn’t mean silence. It’s more of a white noise or a mood noise effect. The right music works, or maybe reruns of a tv show you know by heart. But nothing jarring. No kids hammering you with requests. No husband bothering you. To write you need to hear only your muse. So, with that said, I only have that kind of quiet after the house is sleeping. Which makes for a lot of late nights and a mom-zombie every morning. And that is where the caffeine comes in. I drink it damn near all day in whatever form I can find.

Besides dystopia, what other genres do you write? Is there a genre that you would like to cut your writing teeth on in the future? 

I dipped my toes into the Dystopian genre with the Chronicles of the Uprising, but I do have works out in a variety of genres already. I have a pen name which handles Paranormal Romance. I am in the process of moving my erotica titles to a new pen name as well. And then there is my other love, Urban Fantasy! That’s what I cut my teeth on. My Immortalis series is a gritty Urban Fantasy set in modern day Las Vegas and Boston. My writing tends to lean towards realism rather than fantastical, however, I would love to attempt an Epic Fantasy one day. Those are such difficult books to do because of all the tiny world-building details involved. I think it would be pretty labor intensive, but rewarding.

I love a fierce female protagonist and Mira, the enslaved gladiator vampire, certainly fits the bill. She is a bit of a realist and has an outlook that isn’t very cheery. In Revolution, Mira said, “Positivity doesn’t get you anything.”  Do you also subscribe to that philosophy or are you more of an optimist?

I’m certainly not as jaded as Mira, but I do tend to lean towards realism. It’s always nice to be hopeful, but to get things done, one has to work for them. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t put a little of my own self into the main character. I think all authors do to some extent. Mira, however has dealt with much more hardships than I have, so her perception is a bit exaggerated. She reacts harshly to her situation because she has not had anyone there to help her. Thirty years of bloodsport, torture, and having to destroy her own people had hardened her and colored her outlook on everything. Even when she does taste a bit of freedom, she does so cautiously because it could all come crashing down at any point, and she could end up right back where she started.

Although this series has romantic elements, I don’t see it as the main focus of the story. I love a little romance in my dystopia, but I have to ask, with the controversy swirling around love triangles, did you experience trepidation writing yet another love triangle? 

I’d considered the romantic element when writing all three parts of this trilogy. And I wanted to delve deeper into that topic, however, looking at the main character Mira, it did not fit for her to be overly emotional and fall for someone so quickly. To remain true to her character, she had to be closed off. She can barely stand to have someone touch her to comfort her, how was she supposed to choose between two men obviously vying for her attention? So, with that in mind, I allowed her to acknowledge that the men were there, and that they both had good qualities, but not build on that until real trust was formed. Remember, Mira has been tortured for her entire existence as a vampire. Love cannot blossom until there are some basic elements. Trust is one of those most important elements.

As for the love triangle, I had no worries about making it part of the story because it fit the story. When I write, I have to be true to my characters and my plot. Altering things just for the sake of some readers feels wrong to me. You are never going to please 100% of the people. But, I feel, if you are true to the story, people will see it.

The love triangle between Mira, Lucian, and Stryker definitely ends in Revolution with Mira making a choice between the two. Did you know who she would choose from the beginning of the story or did the final outcome develop as you were writing?

Mira chose the opposite person I had originally selected for her. But, again, being true to my characters, there was really only one good option for her. She went with the person she could have a real relationship with. The other is still her partner and will remain by her side, but as far as a real romantic connection, there was no question… for Mira.

The desire of the otherkin to seek revenge against humans is an important theme in Revolution.  Mira faces her nemesis, the ultimate mean girl Olivia Preston, and has the opportunity to obtain sweet revenge.  Is the character Olivia Preston based on a real person?  If so, did writing Olivia’s finale serve as a form of revenge?

Is Olivia a real person? No. Does she represent people who might need a little comeuppance? Sure! Writing is sometimes a cathartic process. It’s nice to be able to exact karma on characters who really deserve it, especially when in life you see people get away with atrocities every day and never seem to have any recompense. And, for the record… I think Olivia got exactly what was coming to her.

As a vampire, Mira has supernatural abilities including a heightened sense of sight and her blood with healing properties.  If you could have a super power or sense, what would it be and why? 

I’d take heightened sense of sight. I’m practically blind as it is, so being able to see clearly, without coke-bottle glasses would be a dream come true. LoL!

In your series Chronicles of the Uprising, there is an otherkin sanctuary hidden from humans.  Where is your sanctuary?

Sadly, I don’t have one. Unless you count the bathroom. LoL. But then, the littles find me. Mom of three kids, I’m never alone. Not that I’m complaining, it’s just the truth. No sanctuary for me for a while. But that is okay.

What can readers look forward next from you?  Do you plan of writing a fourth book this series? Do you have a current WIP? 

There is a potential for a 4th in the Chronicles, but for now the trilogy is complete. I’ve been asked if I will return to Alyssa and Lysadner in the Immortalis series, so I may have to revisit them for a 7th book. As of right now, I am finishing up a story for my Paranormal Romance pen name that is set to be part of an anthology in October. Vampire Erotic Romance entitled One Night With A Vampire.

Thanks again for having me here. Great questions!!

ABOUT KATIE SALIDAS

Katie Salidas, author of the Immortalis series (Urban Fantasy), Consummate Therapy series (Erotica), and the recently released Chronicles of the Uprising (Dystopian) is a Jill of all Trades. She’s a Super Woman endowed with special powers and abilities, beyond those of other mortals. Katie can get the munchkins off to gymnastics, cheerleading, Girl Scouts, and swim lessons; put hot food on the table, assist with homework, baths, and bedtime… And, she still finds the time to keep the hubby happy (nudge nudge wink wink). She can do all of this and still have time to write.

And if you can believe all of those lies, there is some beautiful swamp land in Florida for sale…

Katie Salidas resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mother to three, Wife to one, and slave to the craft of writing, she does try to do it all, often causing sleep deprivation and many nights passed out at the computer. Writing is her passion, and she hopes that her passion will bring you hours of entertainment.

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The stunning cover for Mirror X immediately caught my attention, but after reading the synopsis it promised even more. I knew from page one that this was my kind of book and at that moment interviewing Karri Thompson became priority one. I was thrilled when she agreed to answer my questions for this interview as I found Mirror X to be an original dystopia with a minefield of controversial subjects.  

Your new book Mirror X is an original YA Sci-Fi Dystopian novel.  Did your career as a high school English teacher influence your decision to write YA novels?  Do you find being surrounded by teen culture, as a mother of a teen and as a high school teacher, helps you stay current and up-to-date on teen language, dress, and attitudes?  Have you ever based a literary character after a student or someone you know?

Being a high-school English teacher did influence my decision to write YA. During the school year, I’m around teenagers 6 hours a day – approximately 180 of them. Yikes! But it does keep me current with teen attitudes, etc. Even so, I try to stay a bit generic when it comes to teen language and dress. The lingos and fashions change so much that I don’t want to “date” a book. For example, to kids, “sick” means crazy or cool, but it’s not used that much anymore – at least not by my students. “Oh, snap,” isn’t used anymore either. I don’t want a teen to read one of my books and think the character is totally out of it because he or she is using “archaic expressions.” Styles change so much, too. Jeans, T-shirts, and tennis shoes are always safe to use though. They are timeless when it comes to fashion.  One cool thing is that with sci-fi/dystopian, a writer can come up with their own expressions and style. In MIRROR X, tunics are worn most of the time.

I’ve never based a character on a particular student. My characters tend to be a combination of several teens. I’ll pull special things from each one and use them to develop and round out one character.

When do you find the time to write?  Do you ever allow your students to read for you as beta readers or contribute ideas to your work?

Finding the time to write is always a challenge. During the summer, it’s a bit easier, but with MIRROR X releasing just a few weeks ago, I’m still in promo mode and haven’t had a chance to work on anything else. During the school year, I really have to discipline myself by setting the goal of writing and/or editing 35-50 pages a week. I usually reach that goal.

So far, I’ve never used a student as a beta reader. Students are so busy with their own studies and sports, it’s hard to find a student who will have time to read anything extra. Just getting them to read 10 pages a night of To Kill a Mockingbird is a challenge. I do have many of them on my street team though. Many of them read MIRROR X and posted honest reviews for me. I really appreciate them for doing that.I’m still building my team, so it helps when my students join.

I read on your blog that you are a self-proclaimed “music freak.”  Do you listen to music while you write?  If so, what type of music do you listen to while writing?

I am a music freak. I don’t listen to music while I write though. It can get too distracting because the stuff I listen to is pretty hard. When I jog, I listen to music and use that time to rework plots in my head though. That’s my special “me” time. When my students ask me what type of music I listen to, I ask them what kind of music they think I listen to. OMG! They always say classical or jazz. I can only hope that’s because they think I’m intelligent and sophisticated. Lol. I actually listen to hard, alternative modern rock and classic rock. For example, I love Korn, Breaking Benjamin, Slipknot, Nickelback, Disturbed, three hourBuckcherry, etc. I’m going to see Seether next week at the Ventura County Faithree-hourdrive, but it will be worth it. I love going to concerts.

What made you decide to write a dystopian novel? Do you have a favourite dystopian author?

I’ve always been fascinated with future worlds. I read 1984 and Brave New World in high school. Both of those books totally fascinated me. As a teacher, I’ve also taught The Giver and Lord of the Flies. Iconsider Lord of the Flies a dystopian, since the society the boys create is so dysfunctional. As much as I love Suzanne Collins, I’d have to say that my favorite dystopian author is Aldous Huxley. I still can’t believe that book was written in 1931. He was a genius.

What other genres do you write or plan on writing in the future?

I’ve written two paranormal romances (Amateur Angel and Hollywood Angels), but my love is sci-fi. There are two more books in the MIRROR X series, and I’m working on a new sci-fi this summer. In the future, Iplan to continue writing sci-fi and maybe another stand-alone dystopian. The story is in my head. I just need to find the time to write it.

The cover of Mirror X is intriguing and symbolic.  Can you tell us a little bit about it?

I love the cover. My publisher came up with it although I did suggest the hour glass. The hour glass is obviously suggesting that time is running out. In terms of the grass vs. the dry, barren landscape, one is fertile and the other is not. People who’ve read the book will get that. The colors are also symbolic, representing the hope for a bright, colorful future.

Mirror X is a modern day Rip Van Winkle story with a Sci-Fi twist. Cryonics is the first controversial theme readers are introduced to in Mirror X, but it leads to a whole hornet’s nest of other hot topic subjects. If you could be cryonically “frozen” and return to life in the future, would you do it?  Why or why not?

Wow, this is a tough question. I think I would do it, but only if I knew it was actually possible to be brought back to life. For MIRROR X, I did a lot of research into this process. There is a place right now in the U.S. where people can pay to be frozen once they are legally brain dead. The problem is that when cells freeze, the integrity of the cell membrane is compromised, so people can’t survive the thawing process – at least not now in our time period. That’s why Cassie is from 2025 and not 2014. I’m not sure if this problem will be solved in 11 years, but scientists will be closer to finding a way to mend each cell or keep it from bursting in the first place. I’d love to see what the world will be like 1,000 years from now.

Besides cryonics, cloning is also an important theme in Mirror X.  What famous person already deceased would you like to see cloned and why?  If spirits or souls were cloned as well as physical bodies, what famous person would you like to see spiritually cloned in order to meet him/her?

Another hard question. There’s more than one. I’d love to see James Dean and Marilyn Monroe because they are so iconic. If souls were cloned as well, I’d pick Michael Hutchence. I had a huge crush on him when I was in high school. He was the lead singer of the band INXS. He committed suicide (although that’s still up for debate) after a drug binge. He made some terrible decisions in his life, but I’ve also read enough about him to know how creative, intelligent, and caring he was. I read an interview where he said he was reading the book Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. How cool is that? To me that says a lot about him as a person. I’d also want to see him perform with INXS or maybe he could even give me a private concert.

I found myself highlighting several memorable quotes while reading Mirror X.  Do you have a favourite quote and will you share it with us?

One of my favorite quotes is when Michael tells Cassie, “Now that you’re awakened, everything is different.” In my mind, I can so vividly imagine this scene. He is hot and sincere.  I know a lot of readers go back and forth when it comes to what they think about Michael because he has let Cassie down so many times, but he does genuinely care about her. This is a young man who never had a childhood, and as such, is easily manipulated by the team at GenH, believing that as part of “the team” he has to do as told. I forgive him for his mistakes. And don’t forget – I know what happens in book 2.

What can we look forward to in the future from you?  Do you currently have a WIP?

The second book in The Van Winkle Project series is written. Book three is outlined. I have two WIPs – a sci-fi called Enestia (that’s the name of a planet), and Ashes on the Rhine, a contemporary romance that takes place in Europe. Yeah, I know. ASHES isn’t a sci-fi, but this book is different. It is based on the trip that I took to Europe 2 years ago.

My plan is to have MIRROR X book 2 to my editor within the next two weeks, and then I’ll start writing the third. I can’t wait. Finally everything will come together.

I want to give special thanks to Karri Thompson for taking the time to answer these questions.  I appreciate her thoughtful responses, as well as her support and participation in Band of Dystopian Authors and Fans.  I wish her continued success in the future and I’m looking forward to reading more in the Mirror X Saga.  

Karri’s Links:  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Website  |

Mirror X 
(The Van Winkle Project, #1)

Cassie Dannacher wakes up in a hospital over 1,000 years into the future after her space capsule is retrieved from space. She soon learns that 600 years prior to her arrival, the earth was struck by a plague, killing over half of the world’s population. Naïve and desperate, Cassie, who longs for home and is having trouble adjusting to the new, dictatorial 31st-century government, is comforted by Michael Bennett, the 20-year old lead geneticist at the hospital where she was revived.

But why is Cassie in genetics’ hospital in the first place, and why do several of the people around her seem so familiar, including Travel Carson, the hot and edgy boy she is fated to meet? Soon she discovers there is a sinister answer to all of her questions – and that they want something from Cassie that only she can give.